Lovely Dying
by DarkLightningEnvy
Summary: **REWRITE** What starts as a cold grows into something far worse, and Emma can hardly believe Henry's theory. Magical illnesses? Regina casting some kind of spell to make sure Emma gets sick? When Henry suddenly disappears, Emma knows she needs her wits about her, but now she's suspicious of Storybrooke's Mayor. Can she put it aside long enough for them to find their son?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, here it is. It took me forever, but I finished chapter one. For those of you that were reading the other version of this story, I hope you'll like this one better. I put a little more thought and effort into the writing, and I feel the story may make a little more sense now. The chapters are longer, and it's staying on the 'Henry senses something is up' track like it's supposed to. Please don't forget to let me know what you guys think - support keeps me motivated. You'd be really surprised. And thank ALL of you that have stuck with this story!

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><p>The shrill, piercing sound of garbled music cut through the still air, jolting a very tousled Emma Swan from her sleep. A rather unattractive noise, between a growling grunt and a groan, slipped into the disturbed silence as she twisted under her sheet to slide her hand clumsily across the mattress. Without opening her eyes, she knew it was still dark; her whole body was heavy, signifying waking before her usual six hours of sleep. As her hand connected with her cell phone, wedged under the unoccupied pillow next to her, she wrapped her fingers around the device and slid it out into a position she could see the screen in. The blinding light seared into her retinas, reminding her of said darkness that still presided outside and in the bedroom.<p>

Emma was starting to wonder why she had thought that this Sheriff thing was a good idea. Woken by phone calls at all hours of the night by ridiculous things, or by Leroy and his usual drunken idiocy, was getting real old, real fast. She wanted to prove something to Henry, and she had; the bad guy didn't always have to come out on top, and Emma had very surprisingly crushed Regina and Sydney in that election. But really? What did she think she was accomplishing, being a stranger in a small town that everyone knew everyone in, stepping into a leadership role? She may as well be chopping off her own head and offering it to Regina herself.

"'Lo?" Emma mumbled into the phone, not even bothering to try to squint past the bright screen to see who the hell was waking her up at this random hour. The voice on the other end wasn't expected, yet it was; she _would _be calling to wake her up at this hour.

"What do you want, Regina?" Emma groaned, voice thick with sleep and lingering exhaustion. She wasn't awake enough to deal with this. Her brain usually snapped right into alert mode at so much as a prickle of Regina's presence, but the blonde just couldn't force herself into it. She had slept twelve hours all week, and all she wanted was to never have to get up again.

"Good morning to you, too, Sheriff Swan," Regina drawled into the phone. "Not a morning person, I see."

"Unless you have something to say, I'm going back to sleep," Emma all but snapped. She could hear Regina draw in a steady breath on the other line, but her sleep-addled brain didn't process that it probably meant Regina was about to lash out for Emma's attitude. Not like the blonde cared all that much.

"I was calling to inquire about coffee before our shifts, but if you'll take that attitude all morning, I will go alone."

Emma's eyes snapped back open from the fallen-shut position they had returned to. Was she seriously so tired that she had misheard? She wouldn't put it past Regina to mean something along the lines of Emma bringing her coffee, but if she really decided to go that far, she was just encouraging a whole different kind of war. Tired, half asleep mind or not, Emma wasn't going to lie down and take it.

"If you mean will I get out of bed at…" Her head turned to the side, squinting eyes searching out the bedside alarm she never used. "Six ten in the morning to go get you coffee because you think I owe you something, then no."

"Honestly, you cannot be this immature," Regina snapped with a huff. Emma could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "If you decide to grow up in the next forty five minutes, I will be at Granny's waiting for you. We need to talk." With that, the line went dead, and Emma pulled her phone from her ear to stare at it in slight confusion. She wasn't sure why Regina still managed to completely throw her off; it wasn't like the blonde wasn't used to this kind of behavior from the Mayor by now. But asking her to coffee so they could talk was definitely different. Regina could hardly stand being in the same room with her for work, let alone _coffee. _

Pretending she had absolutely no worry whatsoever about what they needed to talk about was surprisingly simple for Emma as she finally pulled herself from bed and looked around for her pants. She honestly couldn't remember where the heck she had thrown them the previous night when trying to get them free from her legs. All she had really been worried about was shutting her eyes before that less-than-six-hours-of-sleep mark caught up and passed her. Giving up, she crossed to the closet, pulling down yoga pants and a tank top from her top shelf. Well, at least she had showered yesterday, because it looked like Regina was yet again leaving her with very little time to do the important things. Forty-five minutes would be more than enough time for Emma to get to Granny's, but not if she got in the shower first.

As quietly as she could, Emma slipped from her room and made her way towards the staircase that led to the main floor of the apartment she shared with her roommate. It was way too early to be waking the teacher up; which was why she was shocked to find her already in the kitchen, leaned on the kitchen counter and sipping on a cup of coffee as she read over a piece of paper in her hand.

"Do you ever sleep?" Emma asked, making her way around the counter to pick up her coat from the back of the chair. "Sorry," she added, waving the jacket in her hand. "Meant to take this upstairs with me."

"It's alright," Mary Margaret Blanchard said kindly as she glanced up from her paper. "You hardly leave a mess around here, Emma. It's just a jacket." It was always surprising how understanding the woman could be, especially since Emma was so used to roommates that flipped the hell out when her jacket was laying around forgotten. Then again, this was a totally different ballpark now. Mary Margaret was nothing like any of her previous roommates. "You're up early," Mary Margaret notes, returning to her piece of paper and letting her eyes skim.

"Regina apparently wants to talk," Emma said with a slight eye roll. "Asked me to coffee and everything. Not sure if I should be expecting a promotion or an ambush."

"Oh honestly, she wouldn't ambush you," Mary Margaret said with an amused look on her face. Emma gave her a look, one she could apparently feel, because she glanced up from her paper to see it and hid a slight smile. "Okay, maybe she would."

"Yeah, exactly," Emma said as she pulled her jacket on. "Because you and I both know it's that before it's a promotion." Making sure she had everything, she headed for the door. "See you tonight," she called over her shoulder. "Dinner, right?" She waited for the hum of confirmation and the softly spoken 'Have a nice day' before exiting the apartment and heading down towards her car.

xxxx

The drive over was a lot less calm than she had expected it to be. Most of the time, Emma had no issue with seeing Regina, because she knew she could handle anything the woman threw at her. Regina liked to think she always had the upper hand, but Emma knew how to play her game better than the Mayor understood. She had grown up in circumstances that required her to be able to read people, and work around their bullshit. She was alert at all times. So why was she suddenly feeling this stupid pit in her stomach? It couldn't have been anything serious. Then again, she was willing to bet that Regina wouldn't have any interest in her presence if it weren't.

_Damnit_, she thought to herself. _This is probably some new scheme of hers to keep me away from Henry. She's going to sit me down and rip into me until I agree to just get the hell out of Storybrooke. _

Emma was _not _amused with this new case of self-doubt. Like she was going to let Regina Mills run her out of town over a few ridiculous threats.

Emma parked her car in front of Granny's diner and shut the engine down, taking a deep breath and running a hand through her hair. Regina was already inside; her black Mercedes was parked a few spots away from Emma. So much for trying to be early. Regina would always have that one up on her, it seemed. Granny's opened at six, so Regina was probably already present when she even called Emma in the first place. A weird tickle in Emma's throat distracted her briefly, and she cleared her throat to rid herself of the discomfort. Maybe it was just her nerves playing with her, or the fact that she hadn't had anything to drink yet that morning.

With a heavy sigh and another deep breath, Emma got out of her car and locked it behind her. As she was heading for the door of the diner, she deduced that her entire feeling about this situation was just a lack of desire for a fight today. Emma could hold her own against Regina, but she didn't exactly go out of her way looking for a reason to provoke her. Not anymore, at least. There was a point there for a minute that the blonde was trying to make it quite clear to the Mayor where she stood, and when things had only gotten worse, Emma had been the one with enough maturity to back off. For Henry's sake. She really didn't want any trouble today. Opening the door, she stepped inside, coughing slightly at the change in air; it was surprisingly cold outside that day, but the room she was in was nice and warm.

As Emma slid into the booth across from Regina, the brunette didn't even look up from the open newspaper she had spread across the table in front of her. It was a full minute before Emma even decided to announce her presence. "You wanted coffee at some ungodly hour in the morning," she said. "So what's up?"

"Miss Swan," Regina greeted flatly, though her eyes still didn't lift from the newspaper. Emma only coughed in response, placing her arm over her mouth as her eyes rolled. Formalities weren't even worth anything to her anymore, and yet Regina still insisted on them.

"Seriously, Regina, what do you want?" Emma asked after a few stretched moments of silence between them. "Now that I'm up, I may as well be getting things done, and I can't exactly do that if you're sitting there not telling me what you wanted me here for." Of course, Emma could just get up and walk out as long as Regina was going to be difficult, but she didn't actually add that part in. The no fighting, no drama rule was still at the forefront of her mind.

Finally, Regina flipped the newspaper shut and folded her hands over it as she lifted her gaze to meet Emma's. Her usual stony expression was there, but the blonde was surprised to see a faint touch of concern within the brown of her eyes. It was something Emma only ever saw directed at, or about, one person, and suddenly Emma had a feeling she knew why she was here. And her abdomen exploded with her own wave of concern at the thought.

"Has Henry been acting odd to you?" Regina asked bluntly. Clearly she was in no mood to beat around that issue. Emma just looked at her for a long moment, brow slowly furrowing as she thought about it. She barely got to see the kid, thanks to Regina's absolute loathing of her, so she wasn't sure what Regina was expecting her to say. It was a little difficult to sneak around with him when Regina was often parked across the street from his school, making sure Henry didn't get in Emma's car when the final bell rang.

"From what I've gotten to see of him, no," Emma said finally. "He's seemed fine to me." A pause as she choked back another cough; that damn tickle in her throat was refusing to go away. "Why? What's going on?" She was already aware of Henry's flat out refusal to even give Regina the time of day most of the time, and Emma wasn't sure how Regina would be able to detect strange behavior if the boy wouldn't even let her in. But she had raised him all his life, so she supposed it came with being a mother. Emma honestly wouldn't know.

Freeing one hand from the clasped position, Regina reached for her coffee cup, taking a slow drink. In that time, Ruby finally showed up at their table, offering Emma a hot chocolate with cinnamon she hadn't ordered, but took gratefully anyway, if only to get rid of the damn tickle in her throat. She took a long drink from her mug as Regina took one from hers; Regina's cup was first back on the table, as Emma was practically chugging her drink. Regina's brow lifted slightly, her nose wrinkling just so, but she didn't comment.

"His grades have shot down from their usual standards," Regina answered, hand still wrapped around her cup so her fingers could tap thoughtfully against it. "And as much as I wanted to blame you for it, I've made certain he stayed away from you in an attempt to gauge whether or not that really was the reason. They still haven't improved."

"Maybe he's just in some new material he doesn't understand now," Emma said with a shrug after lowering her mug. "He's not going to ask for help if he doesn't think he'll get it."

Regina snorted softly, shaking her head. She went to speak again, but another small cough from Emma cut her off. She waited a moment, gazing at the blonde, waiting for another interruption, but one didn't come. So she spoke again. "He's always been very educated, very good grades, and knows when to ask for help," she said. "I don't see why he would choose now to just stop seeking out assistance if he knows he needs it."

The blonde could see plenty of reasons, but she kept her mouth shut. No fighting, no drama. "Is it just his grades?" Emma asked. Regina shook her head.

"Despite his refusal to speak to me anyway, it seems to have gotten worse," Regina said. "He doesn't even want to eat anything I cook him, and he's constantly locked in his room. When I check on him to offer him time for video games, he claims to not feel like it. He's always felt like playing video games." Regina scowled at the amused glint that had entered Emma's eyes. "_What?" _

"Nothing," Emma said with a smirk. "It's just, you know he's a growing boy, right? He could have, uh…discovered something. And that might be why he doesn't want to come out of his room."

The horror on Regina's face was so comical, Emma actually laughed out loud. It ended in a coughing fit, but oh, was it so worth it. "I'm just saying," Emma rushed to add before Regina could speak, still amused. "He's going to discover it eventually. Some of them discover it younger than others, and they don't understand what it means, other than that it feels good."

"He's _ten!" _Regina exclaimed, a little louder than she meant to. She took a moment to reel herself in before continuing, voice more controlled and a lot less loud this time. "I've never even come close to exposing him to anything that could give him the idea that he could do that."

It really blew Emma away sometimes how Regina thought that she had full influence over Henry's life. It was like the woman didn't believe in outside sources at all. Taking a slow breath, Emma closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and looked at Regina seriously. "What about Graham?" she asked quietly.

It had the expected result. The air got tense, Regina's whole body went rigid, and her eyes completely glossed over with the armor Emma was so used to seeing. Any and all concern was gone. "What about Graham?" Regina asked shortly, tone hard. Emma shrugged weakly.

"Did they talk?" Emma asked, voice quiet. "Do you think maybe Henry found out about it and asked Graham, and maybe Graham explained it to him?"

Regina seemed to be thinking for a moment, though her hard gaze bore into Emma's bright green eyes threateningly. Emma and Regina didn't get along, but there had been a bit of a silent agreement that the mention of Graham wouldn't be an accepted topic. But what else could Emma do in this situation?

"We don't even know if that's what is even going on," Regina said finally. "And if it is, and Graham spoke to him about it, I suppose there's nothing to do about it now." Not like there would have been something to do about it anyway. And Regina had a point; that was just one of the many possibilities of what could be going on, and neither of them had enough evidence to determine what exactly Henry was doing or feeling.

When it came down to it, none of their logic really mattered. What did matter was that they needed to figure out if Henry was alright, and Emma wasn't sure if Regina even realized that she was basically asking the blonde for help, but Emma was volunteering her services anyway. "How about I pick him up from school today?" she offered, and quickly cut in when it looked like Regina was about to protest. "No offense, but he won't talk to you. I can at least try to get him to talk to me. And if that doesn't work, we'll think of a new plan. Okay?" Henry was theirs, whether Regina liked it or not. Both of theirs. She was going to have to suck it up and let Emma help if she wanted to figure things out.

"Fine," Regina said after a short sigh of frustration. "But you will have him home before dinner, and you will call me if something happens."

Emma had no idea what Regina expected to happen, but Emma nodded anyway in agreement. Another cough, this time into her napkin, and then Emma reached into her pocket for money for her hot chocolate.

"You may want to get that cough taken care of," Regina said nonchalantly as she paid for her own coffee. "I will not have my son waking up ill." With that, she stood, and was out the door within seconds of getting her jacket on. Emma just glared after her; it didn't last long, because she was coughing again almost immediately.

xxxx

"You look horrible," Henry noted as he climbed into Emma's bug at the end of the school day, dropping his backpack at his feet and turning to look at her. Emma honestly wasn't surprised by the comment; the tickle in her throat had escalated to a full on hoarse cough, and she was starting to feel a little under the weather. Her lips were swollen from the amount of times Emma had pressed a napkin over them, and her face was forever red with the effort it took to cough. She had decided that she wasn't going to keep Henry long; she didn't want him to get sick, if that was what was happening to her, and she had a feeling it was. They would talk for a while, she would take him for ice cream, and she would take him home so Regina didn't have a total and complete meltdown. Emma _knew _she wasn't feeling up to one of those now, even less than she was feeling up to drama this morning.

"I'll be okay, just a little cold, I think," Emma said as she started the car. "Ice cream?" She looked over at him, and he nodded enthusiastically with a smile. Emma wasn't noticing anything off yet; this was pretty much the way he always acted around her. So maybe whatever it was, it was directed at Regina specifically. Or it really was his discovery of some of the simple body pleasures.

With the town being so small, it didn't take long for them to get to the ice cream parlor. Emma parked and shut the car off, and Henry was out the door before she even got her seatbelt unbuckled. Whether it was because he was hyperactive, or she was just having slow reactions that day, she had no idea, but she was soon following him into the shop anyway. When they were settled with their ice cream, Emma reached across the table to mess up Henry's hair a little.

"So how've you been, kid?" Emma asked. "I barely get to see you anymore."

"Yeah, cause Mom's been worse than ever," Henry muttered, rolling his eyes and taking a bite of his banana split. "I failed a couple of tests, and now she's punishing me."

"From what she told me, it sounds like you're failing more than a couple of tests," Emma said gently. Henry looked away guiltily, though he was certainly very defensive about it.

"She talked to you? What, so you're on her side?"

"Hey, I'm not on anyone's side," Emma said, lifting her hands. Now she was beginning to see where the odd behavior was coming in. He definitely had a little bit more of an attitude than he usually did. She had to wonder if someone was messing with him. "Is everything okay at school? No one's bothering you or anything?"

"Everything's fine," Henry said. "Just like I told her. I'm fine."

Jackpot. He wasn't fine. He wasn't looking at her, and his voice was quiet, which meant he was trying to cover up a lie. Taking a slow drink of her milkshake, Emma let the cold soothe her throat in an attempt to chase away any incoming coughs before she spoke again. "What do you mean when you say your Mom's being worse than ever?" she tried. Maybe she could get some answers about how things were at home, at least. Henry didn't seem real enthused to answer, but he did after another couple of bites of his split.

"She just won't leave me alone," Henry said finally. "And I keep…" Trailing off, he shook his head. "Nothing."

"Henry, you keep what?" Emma asked, leaning across the table. "You can talk to me, remember?" He still looked reluctant, but again, he gave in and spoke.

"She's up to something," he said. "I don't know what. But I don't want to be around whatever it is, so I lock myself in my room, and she still doesn't leave me alone. I just want her to leave me alone until she's done doing whatever she's doing. But I don't want her to hurt anyone."

So they were back to this. Emma had actually started seeing a little progress between him and Regina lately, but now he was reverting right back to thinking she was evil and hurting people. Which, yeah, Regina technically was hurting people, just not in the way Henry believed she was. Emma was pretty sure they would have caught Regina in the act of actual magic by now if it really were the case.

"Kid, I doubt she's going to hurt anyone," Emma said soothingly. She didn't get much further before she was coughing again, picking up a napkin to cover her lips with. Damnit. This was getting really tedious. Emma hadn't been sick in ages. She needed a cough drop or something.

"She's probably just doing her usual Mayor crap and digging into people's business she shouldn't be," Emma said once she was finished coughing, her voice hoarse and her throat sore. "If she's sneaking around or something, I can guarantee that's why. It's what she does." Sure, it didn't put Regina in a great light, but it put her in a better one than Henry was trying to. Not like Emma thought her to be the most innocent person in the world, but she at least tried to get Henry to like her a little more than he did.

Henry didn't respond for a long time. He looked completely dejected, and not entirely convinced by Emma's words. When he did speak, it was to change the subject entirely. "You're sick," he said. "You should go home. Mom's going to freak if you miss work." He sounded so much older than his age, and it made Emma's chest hurt a little.

"She is, isn't she?" Emma asked with a soft sigh. That sigh brought on another cough, and it took all of the energy left in her – which wasn't much – not to start cursing in front of Henry. He was right; she really needed to go home, get herself some tea, and maybe pop a few Benadryl. She would be better when she woke up; these things never lasted more than a day or so for her. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Henry finished his split, and Emma opted to take her milkshake with her, despite it being a little chilly outside. It was quickly approaching Winter air, and that was surely why Emma was suddenly getting sick. Change in season never did agree with her, though it had been a while since she had escalated to feeling like this. When Emma pulled up in front of Regina's mansion, Henry leaned over to hug her, but Emma leaned away.

"Nuh uh," Emma warned. "Next time. If you get sick, your mother's going to kill me, and I really don't feel like being blamed for that." Thankfully, Henry wasn't offended; he seemed more amused than anything. With a quick wave, he was out of the car and hurrying into the house, no doubt to lock himself in his room once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two **

Tea and Benadryl had done absolutely nothing for Emma. It had taken her an hour to get to sleep due to so much coughing, and when she finally did wake up, it was with sore muscles and an even more intense cough than she had gone to sleep with. She either had a cold, the flu, or both, and it was absolutely unappealing to her. Shifting uncomfortably in her bed, Emma groaned as she was forced to roll over and look at the time; 6:43am. She may have woken up in time, but there was no way she was going to work today. Regina's attitude be damned; a blanket, some cough drops, and mindless television had never sounded better to her than it did right then.

It took even more effort to sit up, and by the time she was on her feet, Emma felt like she would collapse and never get back up. And then her stupid phone rang, and she was cursing the world as she bent back over to fish the device from beneath her pillow. Her body caved, and she sat back down so she could answer the phone and not have to split focus between speaking and staying up right. "Hello?" she said into the phone. It barely sounded like her voice. That explained the long pause on the other end, before a confused, "Miss Swan?" followed.

"Regina," Emma replied with a weak cough. "It's seven in the morning. What do you want?" The blonde was absolutely not in the mood for the third degree, or any other kind of typical Mayor Mills treatment, for that matter. She just wanted to lie on the couch and go back to sleep.

"I was going to ask you to meet me for coffee again, but considering you sound like you've been hit with a fresh wave of the plague, perhaps we should do it another time," Regina practically drawled on the other end of the phone. Emma couldn't tell if she sounded more disgusted or more annoyed. Like Emma _chose _to be sick like this when Regina just happened to need her for some stupid spy game she was pulling on their kid.

"I can come," Emma said after a few moments of thought. "Just…just give me a while. I want to get in the shower first. I'll meet you at your office."

"You'll do no such thing," Regina replied sharply. "I won't have you infecting everything you touch in my office." There was a pause, and then, "I'll be at your apartment in twenty minutes. At least that way I have the option to change clothes and disinfect before going to work." There was no room for argument – Regina hung up the phone. Sighing, Emma tossed the phone down and rubbed her eyes; Mary Margaret was still asleep, and Emma really did not want to wake her with Regina in the house. Maybe she could get Regina to stay in the hallway.

First thing was first, however, and Emma crawled from the bed and into her bathroom. The shower was heavenly, and did wonders for her nose. Her muscles loosened up a little bit, and she could walk better after she got out. She really didn't put a lot of effort into her appearance, however; yoga pants and a tank top were the choice of the day, and she didn't even bother trying to dry her hair. Regina would be there soon, and as long as Emma's hair was, it would take at least ten minutes to get it completely dry. Sick or not, she would just let the air take care of it for her. Heading to the kitchen as quietly as she could, she didn't even realize it was still a school day until she rounded the corner and saw Mary Margaret standing at the counter with a newspaper and a cup of coffee.

"Emma," the shorter brunette woman greeted with a kind smile. Said smile immediately turned into a frown when she saw the state the blonde was in. "You look terrible…"

Emma forced a half smile. "Yeah," she agreed, not amused in the least to find her voice still unnaturally hoarse. "I'll be fine. Just an extra day of sleep or something to get rid of this cough." She hadn't coughed since she had been in bed, thankfully, so hopefully that meant progress. She took the cup of coffee that Mary Margaret offered her and stayed on the other side of the counter, smiling tiredly when the woman waved goodbye and left for work. Emma glanced at the time; Regina was five minutes late. That in itself was unusual.

It wasn't until Emma had stretched out on the couch with a blanket, some tea, and the remote that a sharp knock came at the door. Sighing, Emma closed her eyes; she knew she shouldn't have lay down yet. Getting back up was painful and drained the last of her energy, and by the time she got the door opened, Regina looked impatient and a little annoyed. And a little frazzled, if Emma were honest. "Nice of you to finally show up," Emma said weakly, none of her usual punch in her words. Regina looked her over slowly, lip curled in complete disapproval and disgust.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect you at the station this week," was the only response Regina had for her before brushing by her and into the apartment. Like she owned the place or something. Annoyed, Emma pushed the door shut and returned to her place on the couch, picking up her tea and not offering Regina anything to drink.

"What do you want, Regina?"

"You spoke to Henry, I'm assuming," Regina said, placing her briefcase down on the counter in the kitchen and laying her coat neatly next to it. Emma only nodded, despite Regina not being able to see her. It didn't matter; Regina continued as she reentered the living area, heels clicking on the hardwood floor. "He locked himself in his room as soon as he came home, and I could barely get him out for school this morning. This is only getting worse."

And this was where Emma saw a dilemma in her path. She could shrug it off and pretend like she hadn't gotten anything out of Henry, like the kid was just going through a phase, or she could let on a bit of what he really thought. She didn't particularly like Regina all that much, even though she understood her; and she was trying to keep in Henry's good graces. She owed him that much. But Regina was his mother, whether Emma or Henry liked it or not. And despite everything, Emma could see how hard Regina tried, only to get it thrown completely back in her face.

"He thinks you're hiding something from him," Emma said finally. "He doesn't know what, but he's upset. He doesn't like not knowing." The wince that passed Regina's features confirmed it for Emma, and her eyes narrowed as best as they could in her condition. "_Are _you hiding something from him?"

"Don't be stupid," Regina snapped, her mask sliding back into place effortlessly. "What could I have to hide?" She didn't let Emma answer. "He's just too young to be thinking like this already…"

For a brief moment, Emma actually felt sorry for Regina. But then she reminded herself that the woman in front of her was a class expert at manipulation, and this whole thing could have been a game right from the very start. She liked to think that Regina wouldn't include Henry in any of her manipulative bull crap, but at this point, Emma didn't know _what _to believe. She was going to have to start keeping tabs on Regina once she started feeling a little better.

"You look terrible."

Blinking out of her thoughts, Emma's head turned just slightly to look at Regina. Her features had softened slightly, but not enough to actually bring down that stoic mask, and she had crossed her arms over herself. Maybe the chill throughout Emma's body wasn't just the fever talking, after all. But the fact that Regina had just acknowledged her illness in the exact same way that Mary Margaret had struck a nerve, and she shifted a little before looking away.

"I'm fine," she muttered, almost defiantly. She would be better within a couple of days. She would make sure of it.

There was a long silence before Regina spoke again, and the bite had returned to her undertone. "I do hope you haven't gotten my son sick," she said shortly. "He's prone to germs, and it takes very little time for his health to decline." Emma rolled her eyes, then closed them as she lifted a hand to rub at her temple. She couldn't even dignify that with a response. Her head was starting to pound, and the sound of Regina's voice was making her far more irritable than usual.

"Is there a specific reason you're here," Emma asked, hand dropping so she could level Regina with as flat of a look as she could muster (which wasn't all that difficult, considering her condition), "or did you just come here to poke at me about my health? Because I really don't feel like listening to it." She would rather be curled up on the couch asleep; exactly what she was going to do when Regina finally got the hell out. But it really didn't appear that Regina intended on leaving her alone any time soon, so Emma braced herself for a morning of little rest and much headache.

"I don't want you at work today," Regina said, avoiding the jab completely. "And I don't want to see you at my office until you get over this plague. I have some paperwork for you that you can work on here. I need it in a few days."

That wasn't why she was here, Emma knew, but she would take it. She wasn't up for anything more dramatic than that. "I'll start it after my nap," Emma muttered. "Leave it on the coffee table."

Regina did just that, opening her briefcase on the counter and extracting a handful of papers that she set down on the coffee table in front of Emma. Straightening, the brunette turned towards Emma, her features only softening slightly as she gave her a once over. "Get some rest." Emma half smiled in response. They were both oblivious to the brief moment of camaraderie that hung between them. Finally, Regina turned, picking up her things and leaving the apartment. Emma was asleep shortly after.

xxxx

The expectation of sleep helping her feel a little less dead was completely thrown out the window when Emma woke up feeling a lot worse than she had through this entire bought of illness. Mary Margaret was home, which meant it was getting late, and the blonde knew she had to get up and start the paperwork Regina had left her. But she could barely move. Her limbs felt like heavy tree trunks, and there was so much pressure in her head that she was almost positive she was having an aneurism. The strangest, and most uncomfortable, was the thrumming in her veins. It felt like electricity slowly flowing through her, starting at the top of her chest and moving down through her entire body. Shifting felt like she had run ten miles. She just barely managed the soft groan the escaped her.

Mary Margaret, who sat in the chair next to the couch, shifting forward in her seat. Her expression was painted with worry; she had never seen Emma look so pasty before. Her friend looked like she was ready to be on her deathbed, and the pixie haired woman wished that was an exaggeration. "Emma," Mary Margaret said softly. "Emma, I've called Dr. Whale. He's on his way over."

Panic shot through Emma's system. "No," she whispered. "No doctor.."

"Emma, you're very sick," Mary Margaret insisted, though her tone was still soft. "You need something to help you get better." She wished she had known what to do without calling Whale, but honestly, she had never dealt with something this severe before. Sure, the kids at the school got sick all the time; but never anything deathly. A cold here and there, maybe the flu, or some strep throat. Emma looked like she had some kind of disease spreading through her.

Emma's panic didn't reside in the fact that she had no medical insurance. It was mainly her subconscious reminding her of the last reason she was in a hospital; the probing to make sure she really had gotten raped, the needles to hydrate her again, the endless, vicious cycle of questions…She couldn't do that. Not with Whale, especially.

But the knock came at the door, and Emma just lay there, resigning herself to her own fate. Until the voice she heard from a distance was definitely not Whale's, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at Mr. Gold.


End file.
